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New Heat for Google CEO

U.S. Says Google's Larry Page Knew About Improper Online Pharmacy Ads

Behind Google Inc.'s decision this week to settle a U.S. criminal probe into ads it carried for unlicensed online pharmacies lies a previously undisclosed factor: Justice Department investigators believed company co-founder Larry Page knew of, and allowed, the ads for years.

Sorting through more than four million documents, prosecutors found internal emails and documents that, they say, show Mr. Page was aware of the allegedly illicit ad sales. Under this week's $500 million settlement, those emails won't be released, avoiding...

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New Heat for Google CEO Larry Page

According to federal investigators, Google's CEO Larry Page was aware of his company's acceptance of illicit advertising and knew about it for some years, WSJ's Thomas Catan reports on digits. (Photo: AP.)